EDITORIAL: State's Technology Fund needs clarity

By Enterprise editorial staff

Published
1:00 am CST, Wednesday, February 6, 2013

Here we go again: Another mixed report for the Texas Emerging Technology Fund that leaves taxpayers wondering whether the program is on the right track. Gov. Rick Perry keeps promising that his pet project is coming along just fine, but the numbers don't back up his rosy assessment.

The latest flap centers on $6 million in what a new state report calls "potential bad debts" - failed investments that the state might not recoup. That's significant, because the same report notes that the overall value of the fund has plunged. It now stands at $2.4 million above what the state has invested in it - a sharp drop from $4.6 million last year.

If all this is eerily reminiscent of similar problems with the state's cancer research institute, it's not your imagination.

The Legislature should make sure that taxpayers get clear information about the Tech Fund. If they don't, there's no reason they should continue to support it.